The Double Life of Fidel Castro: My 17 Years as Personal Bodyguard to El Lider Maximo

In The Double Life of Fidel Castro, one of Castro's soldiers of 17 years breaks his silence and shares his memoir of years of service, and eventual imprisonment and torture for displeasing the notorious dictator, and his dramatic escape from Cuba. Responsible for protecting the lider maximo for two decades, Juan Reinaldo Sanchez was party to his secret life - because everything around Castro was hidden.

Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba...and Then Lost It to the Revolution

Havana Nocturne takes listeners back to Cuba in the years when it was a veritable devil's playground for mob leaders Meyer Lansky and Charles "Lucky" Luciano. Thanks to strong ties with the island's brutal dictator, President Batista, the mob soon owned the biggest luxury hotels and casinos and launched an unprecedented tourist boom. But their dreams collided with those of Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, and others.

The Cuba Wars: Fidel Castro, the United States, and the Next Revolution

There are few international relationships as intimate, as passionate - and as dysfunctional - as that of the United States and Cuba. In The Cuba Wars, Cuba expert Daniel Erikson draws on extensive visits and conversations with both Cuban government officials and opposition leaders - plus key players in Washington and Florida - to offer an unmatched portrait of a small country with outsized importance to Americans and American policy.

Fidel Castro: A Spoken Autobiography

For decades, people have tried to persuade the leader of the Cuban Revolution to tell his own life story. Ignacio Ramonet, the celebrated editor in chief of Le Monde diplomatique, has finally succeeded. For the first time, in a series of extensive and probing interviews, Fidel Castro describes his life from the 1950s to the present day.

Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life

Che Guevara was a dashing rebel whose epic dream was to end poverty and injustice in Latin America and the developing world through armed revolution. Jon Lee Anderson traces Che's extraordinary life from his comfortable Argentine upbringing to the battlefields of the Cuban revolution, from the halls of power in Castro's government to his failed campaign in the Congo and his assassination in the Bolivian jungle.

The U.S.-backed military invasion of Cuba in 1961 remains one of the most ill-fated blunders in American history, with echoes of the event reverberating even today. Despite the Kennedy administration’s initial public insistence that the United States had nothing to do with the invasion, it soon became clear that the complex operation had been planned and approved by the best and brightest minds at the highest reaches of Washington, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff and President John F. Kennedy himself.

The Great Game in Cuba: How the CIA Sabotaged Its Own Plot to Unseat Fidel Castro

The Great Game in Cuba uses the backdrop of the Cuban Revolution to examine the CIA's inner workings during the '50s and '60s. Detailing the agency's lies and deceits, Mellen paints a vivid behind-the-scenes picture of the CIA in Cuba after the Castro revolution: what it wanted and the lengths it was willing to go to in order to paralyze the opposition to Fidel Castro.

Back Channel to Cuba: The Hidden History of Negotiations Between Washington and Havana

Since 1959, conflict and aggression have dominated the story of US-Cuban relations. From John F. Kennedy's offering of an olive branch to Fidel Castro after the missile crisis, to Henry Kissinger's top-secret quest for normalization, to Barack Obama's promise of a "new approach", William M. LeoGrande and Peter Kornbluh reveal a 50-year record of dialogue and negotiations, both open and furtive, indicating a path toward better relations in the future.

Cuba

This island was once a clearinghouse for importing slaves into the New World. It later became one of the world's few remaining bastions of Marxism, proclaiming socio-economic equality. In both forms, Cuba has played a unique and dramatic role in American affairs. This presentation focuses on Cuba's economic and social upheaval, with special attention to how this has affected the United States.

Islands in the Stream

First published in 1970, nine years after Hemingway's death, this is the story of an artist and adventurer, a man much like Hemingway himself. Beginning in the 1930s, Islands in the Stream follows the fortunes of Thomas Hudson, from his experiences as a painter on the Gulf Stream island of Bimini through his antisubmarine activities off the coast of Cuba during World War II. Hemingway is at his mature best in this beguiling tale.

Cuba Open from the Inside: Travels in the Forbidden Land

Cuba occupies a place of undisputed fascination in the American psyche. Despite its proximity to America, this island nation remains a mystery to most Americans. Few Americans have traveled to Havana, and still fewer have traveled deeper into this isolated country. Chris Messner, a photographer, is one of the few Americans who have been able to travel extensively throughout this island.

Gangsterismo: The United States, Cuba and the Mafia, 1933 to 1966

Gangsterismo is an extraordinary accomplishment, the most comprehensive history yet of the clash of epic forces over several decades in Cuba. It is a chronicle that touches upon deep and ongoing themes in the history of the Americas, and more specifically of the United States government, Cuba before and after the revolution, and the criminal networks known as the Mafia.

Trump Revealed: An American Journey of Ambition, Ego, Money, and Power

Trump Revealed offers the most thorough and wide-ranging examination of Donald Trump's public and private lives to date, from his upbringing in Queens and formative years at the New York Military Academy to his turbulent careers in real estate and entertainment to his astonishing rise as the front runner for the Republican presidential nomination. The book will be based on the investigative reporting of more than two dozen Washington Post reporters and researchers.

Miami

It is where Fidel Castro raised money to overthrow Batista and where two generations of Castro's enemies have raised armies to overthrow him, so far without success. It is where the bitter opera of Cuban exile intersects with the cynicism of U.S. foreign policy. It is a city whose skyrocketing murder rate is fueled by the cocaine trade, racial discontent, and an undeclared war on the island 90 miles to the south.

The Road to Cuba: The Opportunities and Risk for US Businesses

After President Barack Obama's announcement in December 2014, investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs began asking questions: What will this historic change mean for economic relations between the United States and Cuba? What opportunities - and risks - should US companies consider as they explore the business potential of one of the largest markets in the Caribbean?

It Can't Happen Here

Doremus Jessup, a newspaper editor, is dismayed to find that many of the people he knows support presidential candidate Berzelius Windrip. The suspiciously fascist Windrip is offering to save the nation from sex, crime, welfare cheats, and a liberal press. But after Windrip wins the election, dissent soon becomes dangerous for Jessup. Windrip forcibly gains control of Congress and the Supreme Court and, with the aid of his personal paramilitary storm troopers, turns the United States into a totalitarian state.

Cuban Revelations: Behind the Scenes in Havana

In Cuban Revelations, Marc Frank offers a first-hand account of daily life in Cuba at the turn of the 21st century, the start of a new and dramatic epoch for islanders and the Cuban diaspora. A US-born journalist who has called Havana home for almost a quarter century, Frank observed in person the best days of the revolution, the fall of the Soviet Bloc, the great depression of the 1990s, the stepping aside of Fidel Castro, and the reforms now being devised by his brother.

The Red Flag: A History of Communism

In The Red Flag, Oxford professor David Priestland tells the epic story of a movement that has taken root in dozens of countries across 200 years, from its birth after the French Revolution to its ideological maturity in 19th-century Germany to its rise to dominance (and subsequent fall) in the 20th century.

The Fate of Africa: A History of the Continent Since Independence

Martin Meredith has revised this classic history to incorporate important recent developments, including the Darfur crisis in Sudan, Robert Mugabe’s continued destructive rule in Zimbabwe, controversies over Western aid and exploitation of Africa’s resources, the growing importance and influence of China, and the democratic movement roiling the North African countries of Tunisia, Egypt, and Jordan.

White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America

In White Trash, Nancy Isenberg upends assumptions about America's supposedly class-free society. Poor whites were central to the rise of the Republican Party in the early 19th century, and the Civil War itself was fought over class issues nearly as much as it was fought over slavery. Reconstruction pitted poor white trash against newly freed slaves, which factored in the rise of eugenics. These poor were at the heart of New Deal reforms and LBJ's Great Society; they haunt us in reality TV shows like Here Comes Honey Boo Boo and Duck Dynasty.

Truman

Hailed by critics as an American masterpiece, David McCullough's sweeping biography of Harry S. Truman captured the heart of the nation. The life and times of the 33rd president of the United States, Truman provides a deeply moving look at an extraordinary, singular American.

Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis

In October 1962, when the United States confronted the Soviet Union over its installation of missiles in Cuba, few people shared the behind-the-scenes story as it is told here by the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy. In this unique account, he describes the hour-by-hour negotiations, with particular attention to the actions and views of his brother, President John F. Kennedy. In a foreword to this edition, the distinguished historian and Kennedy adviser Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., discusses the book's enduring importance and the significance of new information about the crisis that has come to light from the former Soviet Union.

The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris

The Greater Journey is the enthralling, inspiring—and until now, untold—story of the adventurous American artists, writers, doctors, politicians, architects, and others of high aspiration who set off for Paris in the years between 1830 and 1900, ambitious to excel in their work.

Food: A Cultural Culinary History

Eating is an indispensable human activity. As a result, whether we realize it or not, the drive to obtain food has been a major catalyst across all of history, from prehistoric times to the present. Epicure Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin said it best: "Gastronomy governs the whole life of man."

Publisher's Summary

In this compelling, behind-the-scenes account, former top CIA officer and Cuba expert Brian Latell examines the extraordinary Castro brothers and the impending dynastic succession of Fidel's younger brother, Raul. Exploring the brothers' remarkable relationship, he reveals how Fidel and Raul have collaborated, divided responsibilities, and resolved disagreements for more than 46 years, a challenge to the notion that the little-known Raul has been an insignificant player. The result is an intimate portrait of two enigmatic men and a new understanding of the psychology and motivation behind their actions. Based on his insider knowledge of Raul, Latell projects what kind of leader he will be and how the shift in power might influence U.S.-Cuban relations.

What the Critics Say

"[T]hose hungry for a greater understanding of Fidel's character and the complicated relationship between the Castro brothers will find priceless nuggets here." (Publishers Weekly) "Few Americans understand Cuba, past, present, and future, better than Brian Latell. He has combined an old CIA hand's knowledge and insights with a clear, readable writer's touch to bring both Castros, Fidel and his enigmatic brother Raul, to life." (Newsweek) "Latell dispels many of the fallacies, myths, and legends about Fidel....Since existing biographical information on Raul Castro is sparse and scattered, the book takes on added value in bringing such material together....[A] readable narrative and an excellent addition to the growing literature on Cuba. Highly recommended." (Library Journal)

Every American should listen to this audio book. The author does a great job of explaining the Castor brothers from their childhood to current positions as world leaders. Well written and well read by the narrator.

I really enjoyed this book and found it gave a lot of historical overview as well as a good peek at what's to come. I feel for the Cuban people in that there will be so much catching up for them to do in order to come into the modern world of things.

The author, Brian Latell, does a fabulous job in telling the journey of Fidel Castro from an upstart rebel to a revolutionary figure who dared take a stand against the powerful neighbor to the north in the United States. Who would have thought that he would outlast US Presidents and other world leaders throughout the last 50 years!

The Bay of Pigs, the Kennedy's, the heated rhetoric between the two neighboring countries of the US and Cuba, this dynamic has been in place for the last couple of generations.

Although he is in the twilight of his life and the curtain is closing quickly, he is still a figure and personality to be dealt with. Even though he has passed the daily powers of running Cuba on to his "not much younger" brother, Raul, several years ago, Fidel is still the person who we all readily attach to Cuba and it has been that way for half a century.

Things will change in a hurry (if not drastically) when the Castro Brother exit from the world stage, question is, how will the United States react and behave when the inevitable happens to the Castro Brothers and Cuba is under new leadership.

Hugo Chavez from Venezuela, just left this world recently, so things are always changing and the United States has to be ready.

A great read for history buffs, current event buffs, political buffs and good reading buffs! I highly recommend this book!

Published in 2005, before Fidel stepped aside for Raul, the book provides an interesting portrait of the brothers and their relationship. It also provides some interesting insight into the work of US intelligence. The book assumes a basic knowledge of recent Cuban history.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

David

Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

7/8/14

Overall

Performance

Story

"BIASED AND ONE SIDED"

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Cuba is a fascinating country and the Castro brothers are very worthy of a book which objectively analyses what they have done in Cuba and elsewhere. Since 1958 when they overthrew the Batista regime (which had American backing) the Cuban government and people have achieved many things, e.g. free education for all (regardless of age or what is studied), virtually 100% literacy rates, a higher doctor to patient ratio than any western/developed country, it is a tropical country where tropical diseases have been eradicated. Nothing positive whatsoever gets a mention from the author. i could mention the fact that Fidel kicked out the mafia soon after taking power, the extremes of rich and poor in countries like America and more.

What could Brian Latell have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

He was a CIA agent, specialising in Cuba and its leaders. Perhaps predictably, all he has done is toe the CIA/USA line - "Cuba is communist so it must be bad". For example, he talks about what Cuba sending soldiers to other countries to fight governments and encourage revolution, the fact that for many years Cuba sent thousands of doctors to many poorer countries and disaster zones around the worked merits less than a sentence. May I also point out that one of the governments that Cuban soldiers fought against was the evil and apartheid South African government.

What didn’t you like about Stefan Rudnicki’s performance?

Nothing. But I don't blame him. He's just reading the author's words.

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

None.

Any additional comments?

Save your money. Buy, for example, The Motor Cycle Diaries and find out why revolution was deemed necessary and the dreadful conditions of the working class/poor in South America then (and perhaps now). I'm no communist but I am capable of being objective, unlike the author. I might even ask for my money back on this book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

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